


Isabel 'Trouble' Guerra

by Glowstickia



Series: Gasoline Believer [2]
Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, Grandpa Guerra is a ghost theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-16 20:38:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11836617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glowstickia/pseuds/Glowstickia
Summary: After a battle, Isabel and Max start heading back when something nags at Max's mind.





	Isabel 'Trouble' Guerra

Isabel exhaled as the massive dark creature with glowing red eyes and large wingspan escaped into the refuge of the forest. Red energy faded from her hands as it transferred to her shoulders. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand. "Ya know, I'm starting to wonder if you attract that thing with your magnetic personality."

Max grumbled as he sat up. He winced as he rolled his left shoulder a bit. "It was funny the first dozen times."

Isabel snorted as she held out her hand to him. He clapped his hand against hers as she helped pull him to his feet. Her eyes scanned the forest floor, brow furrowed until she spotted the loud purple and reds of her umbrella poking out from underneath a pile of pine needles. “Not my fault you seem to attract trouble.” She called over her shoulder as she picked up the tool. 

Max rolled his eyes and pulled his bat out from the rusted metal it suddenly collected. He frowned and shook it. “So, does that make you trouble?”

She spun around and grinned. "How'd you know 'trouble' was my middle name?" she said, swinging her umbrella onto her shoulders. "Which is definitely better than having it be Well."

Max blinked as he stared at her puzzled for a moment. "What do you mean-OH." He rubbed his hand on his face. Isabel’s grin widened. He looked at her through his fingers. “Stop that with your face. It’s almost as creepy as PJ’s.”

"Ouch. Not a fan of smiles are you Grumpy Flips."

He groaned and briefly glanced at the pink hues of the sky. "Don't you have a curfew?" 

Isabel’s lips thinned. Her eyes avoiding his. “We’d better report back to Spender and call it a night.”

Max raised an eyebrow, but followed close behind. He stayed silent. For the most part. “I take it no training tonight?”

She didn’t say a word.

His eyes glanced up. Watching the branches full of leaves and pine needles pass overhead. “Think that bird, emu, moth, thing will come back?” His grip on his bat tightened.

No response.

He pressed his lips together and hummed. “Okay, gonna take your weird silence as a yes. After all seen that thing like, what? Four times now in the past month, month and a half?” Max lowered his bat. His mind going a mile a minute. “Ya know, I wish you would’ve told me ghosts don’t sleep after the whole stealing a plunger and throwing a small PainKiller at my face. Would’ve saved me a few sleepless nights of waiting for PJ to fall asleep.”

He swung his bat to the side, lightly tapping trees as they passed. "Speaking of him, I really need to know a couple of things before we meet up with Spender again."

Isabel's pace slowed, and for the first time in the moment of the one sided conversation, she looked over at him. Intrigue and confusion read clearly on her face.

Max coughed. He didn't expect this. "Well, I was hoping maybe you could help me? The ghost I was talking about, PJ, he uh, really wants me to find him a tool that shoots lazers. It's...why I asked about the whole ghosts and tools thing on the train." 

Isabel stopped walking. Her brow scrunched as she processed his words. "What's his color again?" 

Max pulled at his hat. "Purple."

She hummed. "We do have a lot of tools in the archive." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Grandpa won't notice if a purple tool got up and left. He doesn't pay much attention unless its red." 

Max brightened for a moment, but something nagged at his thoughts. “Why the red tools?"

"Huh?"

He gestured with his free hand. "Like, why does he care about the red ones if you guys have so many? Is he like, part dragon or something for hoarding so many tools." He snorted at his own joke.

She stared at him for a brief moment and rubbed her temple. "I've asked him but he's always been cryptic about it just like-" Isabel paused and adjusted the umbrella on her arm, "The Dojo houses a lot of students. He usually matches them up with one when he thinks their ready or something."

Max laughed. "Seems like I don't get the luxury of being trained under a roof of expert spec users." He swung his bat up and let it fall back to his side. "All I got was magnet powers."

Isabel lightly punched his shoulder. "Hey now, you don't  _need_  to train there. You got one of the best." She flexed one of her arms. Red energy wrapped around her arm as she flexed.

He smirked. “I see, you’re just hogging me all to yourself.” She pulled down Max’s hat and blinded him. “HEY!”

Isabel laughed as he tugged his hat back into place, not over his eyes. "I can do a much better job of getting a newbie into shape than he can." She opened then closed her mouth. "And well, he has enough students as is.”

Max adjusted his hat a little more before feeling satisfied with it. "So do you guys all live in that massive house or-?"

Isabel shrugged. "Yeah, most who train under Gramps live there too."

"I see..." he nodded then stopped, as her eyebrow raised slightly. "I’ve never set foot out of Spender's car whenever we pick you and Ed up."

"Oh."

"So, yeah. Haven't really seen much except for a Spectral Light Show coming from your massive house." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't even know much about your grandfather except that he's trains other spectrals really."

Red energy flared off of her shoulders as they tightened. "Well, you're not missing much." She gave a lop sided grin. "Hasn't changed in years, it's a wonder he's still around." 

Max glanced at her fingers as they twitched, tugging at her jacket. Something gnawed at his thoughts. "He lives with you still right?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." She nodded. "He wanders around every night, making sure everyone is in their rooms and not off doing missions..." She looked at the sky. It was turning purple. "Speaking of which we'd better get moving."

Max stood, staring at her. "Does he ever give you guys a break?"

Isabel walked on as she adjusted her jacket. "Mmmm well, there are meals if that's what your asking."

Max jogged up to her upon realizing she wasn't stopping. "He sounds a bit of a night person. Heck, I'd want to sleep in during the day too."

"What? He doesn't sleep-" Isabel snapped her mouth shut.

Something clicked. 

“You wanna talk about it or-" 

Words tumbled out of her mouth before she could process her thoughts. "I'm good. I'm fine. It's not like Gramps doesn't think I'm good enough when I do exactly what I ask or that he's a gho-" her hands immediately slapped over her mouth.

"Um..." Max opened and closed his mouth. After a few moments of silence and watching her spectral energy simmer a bit, he asked again. "You sure you don't want to?" 

She walked a little farther, not saying a word. Max followed suit. They passed under a weeping willow before Isabel spoke again. "I haven't told Ed....but I think it's cause he already knows. Grandpa's been....like this for a long, long time." 

Max stared at her, his eyes micro scanning her, trying to read her face. "I-...so on the ghost train..."

“[Sometimes they can use tools. And last for a really long time](http://www.paranatural.net/index.php?id=235).” Isabel said, recalling her words that night. She nodded, “Yeah. He’s a Spectral Master after all.”

“So, since he’s a ghost...how long?”

She shrugged. “Its been...a while.” She brushed her falling hair to the side. “I don’t think anyone noticed though. Probably how he wants it.” A sigh escaped her lips. Her shoulders slumped as she leaned on the weeping willow. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

Max glanced briefly at her hand before grabbing her wrist and gently squeezing it. “I won’t.”

 

 

_“I promise.”_

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank monstrblood for like inserting this prompt into my ask box and also sticking with me as I just blow the prompt out of the water and trying to figure out how to segway from point A to F so like yeah. *Finger guns*
> 
> The theory/conspiracy you can find at this link: https://glowstickia.tumblr.com/post/164123782137/so-i-think-i-hit-a-conspiracy  
> I kinda went wild with it. But anywho, if you had your shipping goggles on I hope you liked it ;3
> 
> Song I kept listening to while writing this fic this time was: Gasoline Believer a mashup between Halsey's Gasoline and Imagine Dragons Believer found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRuScILytG0


End file.
